Stinson LLP Senior Counsel Mark Hinderks was featured in a Minnesota Lawyer Q&A discussing the development and impact of his “Dear Ethics Lawyer” column, which recently expanded into a dedicated blog as part of Stinson’s Legal Ethics Project.
The interview highlights how the twice-monthly column, first launched in 2022, has evolved into a broader online resource providing practical guidance on professional responsibility issues facing attorneys and law firms. The new blog organizes current and archived content by topic and allows readers to subscribe to receive each issue directly by email.
In the interview, Hinderks explains that the concept grew out of his longstanding involvement in legal ethics education and his belief that lawyers learn ethics most effectively through concise, practical hypotheticals grounded in real-world situations.
“The concept is to present an interesting or difficult question of professional responsibility, with an answer, or at least factors to consider to get to an answer, in a short writing that can easily be read in just a few minutes,” Hinderks says.
Hinderks also discusses how the blog can support in-house law firm ethics training and continuing legal education efforts. The publication has maintained a twice-monthly publishing schedule for more than four years and now reaches approximately 6,500 email subscribers nationwide.
Hinderks leads Stinson’s Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility practice, advising attorneys and law firms on ethics, professional responsibility, conflicts, privilege issues and malpractice matters nationwide. He has presented more than 135 programs on legal ethics over the past 30 years, has authored many articles and handbook chapters on legal ethics, and has been deeply involved in professional organizations with legal ethics and professional responsibility as their focus.
